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Our third day in Rome and we're eagerly awaiting Tony outside the hotel as today was the day we would visit probably the greatest of all of Rome's ancient remains.
Behold the mighty shell of the Colosseum, constructed between 70 - 80 CE, the largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire with the capacity to hold 50,000 spectators. The Colosseum hosted numerous events, from gladiatorial combats to naval battle reenactments. While its primary function was to entertain the Roman people, it also served as a manifestation of the supremacy of the Roman Empire. Over the centuries, the Colosseum has survived earthquakes, looting, and changes in use, becoming one of the modern wonders of the world and a lasting testament to the history of Rome.
If you're planning on visiting Rome be warned, there's a lot of third party websites selling tickets for up to three times the €20 official entry fee. We bought our tickets online via the official Parco Archaelogical website HERE. The timed tickets are released 30 days in advance and often sell out immediately. Luckily for us, as we were travelling outside the main tourist season, we were able to buy ours just 24 hours ahead, although we had to compromise with the date as we'd originally wanted to go on Tony's actual birthday. Security is really tight - you'll need to show your digital receipt, your passport and pass through a scanner before you're allowed entry, aim to get there way ahead of the time on your ticket!
Chatting to a fellow visitor we agreed that although neither of us had ever been before, we felt like we knew it already from all the times we'd watched Gladiator. The film wasn't actually shot at the actual Colosseum but an impressive replica (a third of its actual size and with digital effects).
From that film!
I swear that seagull followed us all around Rome!
Commodus's entrance - the insane emperor magnificently played by Joaquim Phoenix.
Betcha wouldn't get a photo like this if you came to Rome in the Summer! What's a bit of rain compared to crowds of thousands?
Our €20 Colesseum tickets also included admission to both the Roman Forum and The Palatine Hill.
The Forum was the symbol of Roman civic pride for over a thousand years. Once the setting for public meetings, courts of law and gladitoral combats and was lined with numerous shops and sprawling open air markets.
Immortalised in the 1966 film.
The three Corinthian coloumns are all that remain of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen of Troy, built in 499 BCE.
The Arch of Septimius Severus commemorates the emperor's Middle Eastern victories and was erected in 203 CE by his sons.
The remains of the Basilica Aemilia.
The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, dedicated by Antoninus Pius in 41 CE to his deified wife.
The Temple of Vesta and The House of the Vestal Virgins was the centre for the city's most revered cults.
The Temple of Romulus, part of the Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano.
The 10th Century Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana
The Palatine Hill, inhabited since 1000 BCE and the site of the Romulus and Remus myth, it later became the exclusive, luxurious residential area for Roman emperors and elites.
The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine.
The Arch of Titus, the oldest arch in Rome.
As you csan probably see from the photos, it was raining - it wasn't cold and everyone was in good spirits - unlike being in the rain at home! After a morning of exploring, we headed for a osteria crammed with locals, shed our soggy coats and dripping umbrellas and enjoyed a lunch of stuffed flatbreads and beer (I managed to delete the food photos, but they were huge and very cheap!)
To avoid overcrowding, the day before we flew to Rome, the Roman authorities introduced a booking system for visiting the Trevi Fountain (HERE) with a charge of €2.
Although it was only a five minute walk from our hotel, we didn't lay our eyes on it until Wednesday afternoon and my goodness, it was magnificent!
Another screen location, as seen in La Dolce Vita (1960), 1954's Three Coins in the Fountain (as above) and Roman Holiday (1955).
Built in 1732 by Nicholas Salvi, legend has it that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you'll return to Rome. Ingeniously grafted on to the back of a palazzo (even the windowsills mutate into rough rocks), the Trevi marks the end of the Acqua Vergine aqeduct, built by Agrippa in 19 BCE from a spring miraculously discovered by a virgin.
And of course we threw our coins into the fountain....we all want to come back!
The rain stopped and for a brief moment we had it all to ourselves!
Sightseeing done for the day, it was time to retreat to the pub and enjoy a few beers before a slap-up pasta dinner - with an incredible Ancient Roman-style rosemary flatbread to share and possibly the largest glass of beer known to man - in the osteria next door to our usual.
And, as usual, it took us ages to walk home as I kept getting distracted by the beauty of Rome.
Tomorrow was our final day and possibly our busiest so far. Stay tuned for another Roman epic!
I first went Rome in 2003 and it was no charge for the Forum or the Trevi Fountain. I bought a booklet at the Colloseum that you flip the page over and it shows how it looked at the beginning. The marble was stripped off for the Vatican apparently. Just wandering around Rome is beautiful,the little streets are endlessly charming. We stayed in the Trastevere area,loved it. Carole R
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